training camp

chikbrown

all-access-training-camp-wraps-up-demar-lavine-caruso-show-off-football-skills-chicago-bulls

All Access: DeMar has a CANNON (Ep. 3) | Training Camp wraps up in Nashville | Chicago Bulls

Sam Smith

Romero Norwood: Who's the starting point guard in your eyes,&nbsp;and where do you see the bulls after the first 25 games W/L

Sam: Jevon Carter and 17-8? I’m not projecting a long playoff run, but I do believe the Bulls have a chance to get off quickly with a good record like two years ago when Lonzo Ball was last healthy. The Bulls that season — like they do this season — had a front-loaded schedule with sub-.500 teams the first month. They started then with four straight wins against non-playoff teams, and then got some momentum and won in Boston and swept a road series with the Lakers and Clippers and won in Denver as some good teams also work their way into the season and pace themselves until the end. So a team which plays hard can steal some early wins, which I can see this Bulls team doing with its emphasis on these defensive, physical, defensive types like they added with Carter and Torrey Craig to complement Alex Caruso. They lose a little edge without Patrick Beverley, but decided it’s not that much with Carter and Craig and both shoot better. The Bulls also head into the new in-season tournament around 20 games and aren’t in a tough draw with Brooklyn, Toronto and Orlando, who are not considered sure playoff teams. Boston is the leader in their five-team group. At 25 games, the schedule turns as bit tougher as the Bulls go to Miami for two straight games and then Philadelphia and come home to face the Lakers. I feel like Carter has the edge as the new guy with coach Billy Donovan’s penchant to have a scorer coming off the bench in a more traditional sixth man offensive role for Coby White. The Bulls started 17-8 in 2021-22.

Pete Zievers: You wrote about maybe a two-platoon Bulls offense/defense. In recent memory, the closest I recall to a two-platoon team was Thibodeau’s team.&nbsp; 2nd unit scrambled the other guys with Brewer and Gibson with Omer as the rim protector.&nbsp;They got offense from CJ and Korver and frequently turned games around.

Sam: That team just wasn’t ready to win in 2011 in what was the way the NBA used to be: You get close one year and then break through and win the next year, like the Celtics did with Bird, the Pistons with Isiah and what the Trail Blazers were poised to do in 1991 when the Lakers upset them and then they lost to the Bulls in the Finals. That 2011 Bulls team swept the Heat in the regular season to the point Heat players were in tears in the locker room after that last loss in Miami. But Miami stole a couple of playoff games late against mostly inexperienced Bulls. Miami couldn’t deal with that second unit’s defense and size. But then Game 1, 2012 against the 76ers and it still makes me sick. I remain convinced that team wins multiple titles and Thibs maybe still is here. Just because teams win a championship doesn’t mean they were meant to. I’ve mused this preseason about a Billy Ball second unit heavily predicated on defense with Caruso, Carter, Craig and mixing in Patrick Williams, and maybe Ayo or one of the scorers. Maybe even some Andre Drummond despite the seeming desire for smaller ball. This is the deepest team the Bulls have had under Billy Donovan and it will be interesting to see if he expands his roster as he usually prefers to play nine or at most 10. There is enough NBA talent to have alternating five-player units, though Donovan likes to merge a starter with the bench like he usually does with DeRozan. That will be something to watch this season.

Peter Lund: Could the Bulls get Malcolm Brogdon? He's a real point guard with size.

Sam: It seems like they are committed to this Coby White, Jevon Carter, Ayo Dosunmu competition, and Brogdon makes a lot of money, about $22 million each season for the next two years. That likely would cost too much on a player trade match, and the Bulls really can’t afford to be giving up more firsts for a team to take on Ball’s salary. The larger issue to me with Brogdon is you have to wonder if there is a Brandon Roy possibility, the former Blazers All-Star whose career was shortened by injuries that were known in college and had him red flagged by some teams. Injury questions were what dropped Brogdon into the second round, and while he’s had a stellar career, injuries came frequently again last season and have remained a question as he pursued a rehab this summer instead of surgery. You wonder if that’s why Boston was trying to move him in multiple deals. Probably too risky.

Adam Groner: I’m a little disconsolate about the upcoming season. I started writing you a question but I’m sorry half way through there was no question, just lugubriousness.&nbsp;We all like DeMar, but his style of play, which is ball dominant, slow and mid-range heavy, is while great for certain situations, DeMar is not MJ or Kevin Durant. This type of play has held back the development of Vooch, Zach and especially PAW.&nbsp;The management seems to acknowledge this and has tried to talk around it every year saying the team is updating their style to be faster and better, but unless you get the ball out of DeMar’s hands most of the time, outside last second scenarios, like we had with Lonzo controlling the game, it’s hard not to assume the Bulls will have a hard time being better than last year. And they didn’t get a point guard. And even if Coach Billy agreed with me and took the ball out of DeMar's hands, didn’t let him initiate the offense a large amount of the game, what would DeMar do?&nbsp;I wasn’t thrilled with the Vooch trade, but he’s turned out to be as good as advertised, though much underused. DeMar is who we thought he was, which is not an insult. DeMar has played well, it's just taken the team in the wrong direction.

Sam: Being my first question that requires me to try to remedy lugubriousness, I’ll try to be gentle. This DeMar situation is something of the Catch-22 that’s been hovering over these Bulls and leading to the melancholy of some, others elegiac and certainly saturnine in some cases. DeMar, certainly from the outside, is the best player on the team, the lead scorer and only all-NBA player the last two seasons. So how anyone asks is that the problem? Heck, it’s not like Durant shoots nothing but threes. He’s mostly in the mid range. But there is that element some, like you, note about the ball control and how is the team going to pressure and play faster if one (or two? Hello, Zach?) often control the ball? It’s why there was some sense in the offseason that the Bulls might trade one to replace him with more speed and defense. There were rumors regarding LaVine, and DeRozan is entering the final year of his Bulls contract. So he heard speculation. Everyone is back. So I suspect this probably is, as Nikola Vučević told media this summer during the World Cup, probably the last full run for this group. DeRozan’s free agent signing two years ago and addition probably was the biggest coup for the new management team. It helped bring the Bulls back to relevancy and relieve much community basketball anguish. Even if a doleful cloud sometimes still hangs over the franchise. So now the question becomes once you are back toward the middle with this group, can they take it to where they can relieve the lugubriosity infecting so many fans. That last agonizing sentence probably doesn’t work. Let’s see if the Bulls can this season with the help they’ve brought DeMar, Zach and Vooch.

Wayne Warner: DeRozan as 6th man…any discussion of this?&nbsp;Comes off bench to be the lead scorer for second unit plus of course the “scoring closer” for end of half and end of game.&nbsp;My preference for starters is White, LaVine, Caruso (start game with excellent on-ball defense of opposing team's first unit), Williams & Vučević.&nbsp;Also gives Williams more touches and responsibility for offense.&nbsp;&nbsp;Reduced minutes for DeRozan so fit for postseason and longer career with Bulls.

Sam: It makes some sense, but it’s not the way the NBA works. And no, there has been no such discussion. Nor will there be. The suggestion many make is to break up the DeMar/Zach wing to play Patrick Williams at three where he says he fits more naturally and where he’s less likely to defer to the scorers and might become more aggressive. Benching DeMar may have been whispered about, but never out loud because in the NBA not starting is viewed as a demotion, and it’s just not done to an all-star. Plus everyone in the NBA would think the Bulls are nuts because DeRozan is the only all-NBA player on the roster and reigning All-Star. Management said at Media Day it is in discussions about a contract extension for DeRozan, though nothing seems imminent. Moving out of the starting lineup would hardly be an incentive. But starting isn’t always all it suggests. Billy Donovan likes to talk about staggering, which he does most with DeRozan, taking him out among the starters first and playing him the most with the reserves until late in the game when some matchup decisions are made with others. So in a sense Donovan sees that and puts DeRozan with that group to conceivably give more opportunities to others like Williams. It’s up to them to take them. Meanwhile, credit to DeRozan that he doesn’t like to miss games, and unlike a lot of players in the NBA he’s not welcoming less playing time. You have to embrace players like that as they are no longer the norm. And just imagine what Norm (Van Lier) would say seeing that.

Neil Limper: Improved three-point shooting and a point guard, this is a playoff team.&nbsp;And that’s what they have now. If you can improve the roster, why blow up a team that is close to being in the playoffs.&nbsp;I know, I know, not a championship contender.&nbsp;As a 55-year-old lifelong fan, I guess I’ve learned patience.&nbsp;I watch every game and I sure enjoy watching when they “have a chance”!&nbsp;Like you said about Miami, anything can happen with some talent and a little “luck”!&nbsp;&nbsp;

Sam: Don’t worry. I think this organization has had its share of “let’s bow it up” and we’ll never see that again. I know it’s a popular refrain of some media and fans, who then can go watch another team and sport. While we found out with the Bulls after they traded Jimmy Butler and LaVine was still a year or more away from his ACL recovery that those blow it up seasons are very long. Championship or bust sounds good for a t-shirt, but it’s not the way sports really works. There’s a lot of season, fun and life between title and tank. I hated to see Fred Hoiberg get the blame for having to balance why aren’t they playing better more with why aren’t you losing more. The truth is most rebuildings don’t work. Because you’re investing in kids, prospects, draft choices, and then the luck to get the right ones. The Bulls lost enough to be in position to draft Luka, Ja, Zion or Trae. They never moved up in the lottery and often down and got none. And then these kids have to break through when you are drafting them as teenagers. As Miami showed, you figure out how to win every year. You won’t, but if you get lucky you get there or very close. If you blow it up and get lucky and get a future star, you’re still three to four years away from the playoffs. Even LeBron didn’t get there until this third year. Maybe the Bulls are not championship contenders, but I agree you should enjoy the season because they should compete at a high level. And maybe they get lucky. Hey, they’re overdue.

Bob Rustad: Will Patrick and Coby become frontline players this year?

Sam: I guess they are since they are in the regular rotation, but maybe you mean all-stars. Probably not. I wrote about both this week as far as breaking out, and I can see a lot more from Coby if he gets the playing time and is put in the proper role of a scorer. I believe Williams will continue to improve, but I don’t see as high a ceiling for him because his nature is more to fit in and be supportive. Like Coby reminded everyone on Media Day, he’s the high scorer in North Carolina high school history. He’s got that in him. You still are who you are no matter what others want or need you to be.

Parker Lerdal: Did the NBA coaches bring back suits this season ever since the pre-COVID? Sometimes in 2020 NBA Bubble they stopped wearing suits and they wear casual attires.&nbsp;

Sam: The coaches voted to retain their gym teacher look during games, and while I don’t believe it’s a professional look for going to work, at least it’s the one place now I go I can say I’m much better dressed than the rich guys.

Got a question for Sam?Submit your question to Sam at&nbsp;asksam@bulls.com

The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Chicago Bulls. All opinions expressed by Sam Smith are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Chicago Bulls or its Basketball Operations staff, parent company, partners, or sponsors. His sources are not known to the Bulls and he has no special access to information beyond the access and privileges that go along with being an NBA accredited member of the media.

ask-sam-mailbag-starting-pg-battle-season-expectations-and-more

Ask Sam Mailbag: Starting PG battle, season expectations and more

Torrey Craig is a lot like the rest of us. You know, except for the part of being 6-foot-7 and an NBA player who has been a teammate of Nikola Jokić, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kevin Durant and who has played in the NBA Finals for the Phoenix Suns, who played for the Milwaukee Bucks the season they won the NBA championship and started for a contending, 54-win Denver Nuggets playoff team.

The part of being like us is he never quite has been able to understand the last few years why a Bulls team with All-Stars like DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine and Nikola Vučević hasn’t been better than, well, it has been.

It’s not bragging, and he didn’t say it quite that way, but perhaps those Bulls just need a little bit Torrey Craig.

“I’m new here, so I’m learning as well,” Craig told reporters Wednesday morning in Nashville where the Bulls continued preseason practices. “But at the same time, I’ve been on some really good teams and played in a lot of (big) games. So any advice I can give, I’m going to feel free to do that and not shy away from that because I think that’s what this team is missing, a little bit of toughness, a little bit of (an) edge, the raw emotion to say how they feel and where they are emotionally.

“Playing against them a couple of times and seeing the amount of talent they had on the team…I told coach (Billy Donovan) the amount of games they would be in and not finish, just that little bit of edge you’ve got to have, that competitive edge you’ve got to have to finish out games and get over the hump. That was one of the reasons I wanted to come here,” Craig said. “Because I knew I could bring that extra edge and try to help win some of those close games or help motivate teammates to get over the hump.

“I assessed the roster and the type of team they were and what I bring to the table and I felt it was the best fit (for me) to come here and try to do what I do and to push the guys to do what I do,” Craig added. “They call it the extra effort plays, offensive rebounding, the little things that go into winning. Not just scoring and being talented guys.”

That’s mostly what the NBA is about, or at least the way the NBA and its television partners market the league.

But there’s always more a team needs to be successful, and Craig in his six years in the NBA with very modest statistics — averaging six points, four rebounds and an assist in about 20 minutes a game — has been called the kind of player you want around stars.

The Bulls believe they have stocked up on enough star talent.

Maybe the addition of Craig, along with fellow free agent guard Jevon Carter to pair with the likes of Alex Caruso is what will, despite outside doubts, ignite that star turn for the Bulls this season.

“Even with Denver and Phoenix, there were a lot of different things to impact winning,” Craig said about two of his former employers. “I always tell people that there are a million things you can do, get deflections, offensive rebounding, blocking shots, getting steals, making threes, making the hustle plays, 50/50 plays, being a good teammate on the bench, being a locker room guy. There are so many things you can do to impact winning that go unnoticed because this league is based off talent and big number guys. But all the good teams have guys that do the little things that contribute to winning.”

We’ll see if that’s been the missing piece or the correct formula that finally makes that big difference for the Bulls, and enables them to puff their chests out about having a Big Three. Instead of the disappointing sigh of the last two seasons.

That’s been something of the mystery with these Bulls.

Sure, the Lonzo Ball injury was devastating. But he was at most the fourth-best talent on the team. And he wasn’t a first-team all-league defender like Caruso. Meanwhile, DeRozan was becoming a miracle shot maker and All-NBA, LaVine an Olympic gold medal winner and multiple time All-Star, Vučević a double-double machine and iron man not missing a game. 

Torrey Craig has been in the playoffs with teams that often have gone deep just about every season of his late-starting NBA career.

Perhaps since Craig also knows about being overlooked.

He was a 27-year-old NBA rookie and turns 33 in December after what seemed like what was going to be a nice run with the Australian national team.

Craig comes from a small, rural town in South Carolina and went to a satellite part of the University of South Carolina system in Spartanburg, now called USC Upstate. The NBA scouting train doesn’t stop there long. Craig was an adequate scorer, though not exceptional, a relatively poor three-point shooter and undersized for inside where he played. Forget about being drafted in 2014 when he finished college eligibility. He didn’t even get an invite to Summer League.

So he went off to play in Australia and New Zealand and life was pretty, pretty, pretty good. He had a place with a fine view of the ocean, he began raising a family and embracing the league’s physical style of play, named its top defensive player. You almost couldn’t curb his enthusiasm for Oceania.

By then Craig was getting past his mid 20s, seemingly too old to start in the NBA. And he was on the verge of citizenship and a role with the national team. Where’s he going now? National health insurance guaranteed, plenty of Fosters, the Outback isn’t a steakhouse and you can explain there’s no shrimp on the barbie. But then the Nuggets came calling, an invite to Summer League, and Torrey Craig never has done comfortable too well.

He impressed in Las Vegas with his relentless style, had a brief G League sojourn and then hit Denver on the way to Milwaukee, Phoenix and now the Bulls. It’s not like Craig saved those teams or was primarily responsible for their success. But perhaps it’s also not a coincidence that teams with All-Stars and Torrey Craig fit well together.

“I’ve been in every situation to starting to not playing,” Craig noted. "No matter, I’ll bring the same Torrey to whatever team I'm on or whatever the situation is, a level of toughness, a level of grit. All teams need players who bring that amount of toughness and grit and competitive edge to win the games and be in these situations. You don’t make it deep in the playoffs without those kinds of guys to compete at a high level and with that level of toughness.

“For me,” says Craig, “it comes with the balance of knowing you are blessed to be in the situation you are in and also not being satisfied, always wanting more and wanting to win at a high level. Not being OK to win a certain number of games, or 40 games or whatever, but wanting to win every time you play and knowing you are giving your all and giving yourself a chance to win. See what happens after that.”

torrey-craig-brings-competitive-edge-to-bulls

Torrey Craig brings "competitive edge" to Bulls

chintan

For the first time ever, we're doing in Training Camp in Nashville, Tennessee. Follow along as we bring you in the car with Dalen Terry and DeMar DeRozan, inside our first practice, and our players' team outing at Topgolf.

all-access-training-camp-in-nashville-begins-ep-1-derozan-lavine-caruso-show-off-golf-swings-chicago-bulls

All Access: Training Camp in Nashville begins (Ep. 1) | DeRozan, LaVine, Caruso show off golf swings | Chicago Bulls

Preseason training camp often is considered a time to learn. So with the Bulls in Nashville practicing this week at Belmont University, I decided to immerse myself in academia and stay at a hotel on the campus of the university known as Southern Ivy for its selective enrollment and research and academic credentials: Vanderbilt University.

It also gave me a chance to seek out the statues of alumni Will Perdue, Luke Kornet and Jay Cutler. No luck yet, though there were sculptures named “the Fault” and “Eternal Hope,” which seemed to suggest Chicago pro sports.&nbsp;

In any case, in the tradition of higher education I decided I should administer a test. Given we are basketball fans, I knew I had to make it multiple choice.&nbsp;

So how can the Bulls go from a non-playoff 40-win team this season to a 50-win Eastern Conference contender?

A) Unleash the Big Three of LaVine, DeRozan and Vučević.B) Bring on the Bench Brigade with Caruso, Carter and Craig.C) Try to get Dalen Terry to come out of his shell of shyness.D) It’s Coby White and Patrick Williams time.

"This season I'm going to go back to my roots,” White said. “Go back to the high school Coby. That's the vibe I'm on right now. That's the wave I'm on. I'm just going with the flow right now.”

White actually was talking about his free flowing shock on the top of his head these days, which happens to be the same look he came to the Bulls with in 2019. When White was ranked with the likes of Bernard King and Robert Parish among the top high school scorers ever. But White also could have been talking about the difference he — along with North Carolina buddy Patrick Williams — can mean to changing the Bulls fortunes and enabling them to finally bust out from the post-Lonzo Ball surgery slog that has bogged down the team’s progress.

DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine and Nikola Vučević.

They all have a chance to be All-Stars. All have been multiple seasons in their careers. We pretty much know what we’ll get from them. The same with the likes of Alex Caruso, Jevon Carter, Ayo Dosunmu and Torrey Craig, forceful, aggressive role players who will do more to keep opponents from scoring than they will score on their own. That’s fine; they’ve been those guys their entire careers.

The two players who have the potential to be so much more are Williams, 22, and White, 23. Both going into their fourth and fifth seasons, respectively, are where NBA players in this era who leave college after one year are on the cusp of a breakthrough or a breakdown.

They either, as the cliche goes, are who they are. Or they have that landmark season that launches their careers. And the fates of their team.&nbsp;

Williams and White are poised. But do they have the poise, and does it finally justify their places in NBA analysis when both were top-10, highly regarded draft prospects whom many believed could be top stars for their teams. There have been major injuries for both White and Williams, and frequent role changes as they’ve had to adapt to everything around them instead of being featured. But White’s play became more spirited and determined the second half of last season and the Bulls, after entertaining trade thoughts the previous year, rewarded White with a multiyear extension. Williams is now in position to follow that lead, both financially and favorably in the box scores.

If they can continue and emerge from the shadows of their teammates and tremendous potential, the Bulls could be a lot more than anyone around the NBA expects.

White is considered one of three candidates along with newly acquired Carter and Dosunmu to start at point guard. But something that gets overlooked about White is what he can do and has done that neither Carter or Dosunmu ever entertained. Which is dominating.

"When I got to the league, and before that, I was known as a scorer. That's who I was,” White pointed out earlier this week at Media Day. “I was the leading scorer in North Carolina basketball history in high school (more than you know who). Obviously, my thing was scoring.”

White was asked repeatedly, and in his welcomingly honest and candid way as much or more than anyone on the team has talked about being a facilitator, helping his better known teammates get in position to do what they do. But the Bulls probably more so need White to do what he can do, which is score.

We finally saw evidences of that the second part of last season when White began to take a star trek turn going boldly where few Bulls have gone, which was to the rim. Finally healthy after an injury-riddled 2021-22 season and playoff debacle against the Milwaukee Bucks, White showed not only the shooting prowess but the power and elusiveness to get to the rim and make plays. Remember, this was a kid during his rookie season after being left off the Rising Stars team for the All-Star game in Chicago who averaged 26 points in nine straight games before the Covid league shutdown.

White never got that opportunity again amidst Bulls coaching and management changes and a player who probably more than anyone on the roster was put in positions where almost no one could succeed.

Yet, he never complained and, instead, embraced the suck, as that Cubs manager would say.

“Like I said since I've been&nbsp;here, I'm just here to play basketball and do what I can to help my team win,” said the 6-foot-5 guard. “Whatever role that is. I've been in so many different roles since I've been here. For me, it's just whatever I can do to help the team win. I feel good about the position that I'm in. Honestly, over the years, it might sound weird, but I kind of learned and grown to love the chaos and unpredictability of my situations. I kind of love being in those challenging situations. Kind of just to prove to myself what I'm really made of and how I continue to fight through everything. This year whatever role I get, hopefully it stays stable and I'm in that role for the majority&nbsp;of the year and I continue to grow and find that consistency that I'm looking for.”

It sounds simple enough, but here’s a kid who was one of the nation’s greatest scorers prep scorers ever. And who showed in nine magical games he could do that in the NBA. Imagine what that could mean with the likes of LaVine, DeRozan and Vučević.

“I'm just going to play my game,” said White. “No matter what's going on, I'm just going to be me. Be who I am. I don't feel like I need to change anything or do anything differently than I normally do. I'm just going to continue to grow. Whatever ends up happening, I'm going to try to play that role to the best of my capabilities. But no, I'm just going to be who I am, be who Coby is at the end of the day.

"I just want to grow and continue to get better,” White added. “The biggest thing is to just be more consistent. Play the same way day in and day out. Obviously,&nbsp;you're going to have bad nights here and there. Try to eliminate all the bad nights, especially the consecutive bad nights. In my career, I've been labeled as an up-and-down player. And to a certain extent, that's kind of true. Some nights you don't know which Coby you're going to get. So for me, I just want to be more consistent. And that started this summer with the mental approach.”

Like with his buddy from Charlotte and Florida State, Williams, who was the fourth selection in the 2020 draft, a 6-foot-7 man/child who scouts at the time of the draft said you might not think much of him now. But in five years he might be the best player from that draft. That’s probably not going to happen with the career arcs of No. 1 pick Anthony Edwards, LaMelo Ball and Tyrese Haliburton. But Williams is powerful, had the best three-point shooting percentage on the team last season and often defends the opponent’s best power player because of his defensive abilities.

While Williams fits perhaps more than anyone on the team — and maybe it’s unfair given he came into the NBA at 18 and then missed basically an entire season injured — Winston Churchill’s prophesy of the riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.

Williams knows he’s been there, but he also seems ready to step out. If also up.

“I never want to shy away from the pressure but step into it,” Williams said after the opening practice Tuesday. “I don’t think anything has gone wrong (with my NBA career). I feel extremely comfortable going into my fourth year. I’m not ashamed. I’m pretty proud of the steps I’ve taken to get to this point and I think I’ve put myself in a really good position going into my fourth year to show what I can do.

“I’m from Florida State. You (media) guys know my stats there don’t match up to a No. 4 pick. It just doesn’t,” Williams admitted about his career scoring average of just under 10 points, which is similar to his college season. “Talent wise, for sure, I feel I deserve to be a No. 4 pick. But I truly believe winning takes care of everything.”

“Consistency,” Williams agreed like White, “is going to be a big factor. Learning how to be really good every night. That’s a big step all the great players have taken in their careers at different times and different levels, but they all have taken that step. It’s not going to be perfect every game, but for me it’s just going out there with the intent to be aggressive, play downhill and make plays I know I can make on both ends. Being more consistent rebounding, pushing the ball, being aggressive in transition, creating off the dribble, catch-and-shoots. Just a more forceful me. I feel I’ve shown it all. Now it’s time to put all the pieces together, put the puzzle together.”

White is a year ahead and is the more valuable. DeRozan joked after practice Tuesday that he hopes the phlegmatic Williams finally gets called for a technical foul this season.

“Pat, he’s still not talking more,” said DeRozan with a laugh as Williams, which he never much did before, playfully commented during DeRozan’s media session while he waited ask turn. “If he gets a tech this year, one, I’ll pay it and two, you'll all see how far he came.”

Williams came out of last season saying he finally understood he’s really a wing player. That’s not going to occur, at least immediately, with both DeRozan and LaVine back with the team. But Williams said coach Billy Donovan has altered the offense to provide more playmaking for the so called power forwards, like he and Craig and perhaps also Caruso. Donovan seems dedicated to the smaller lineups.

“The guys at the four are more involved with the ball in their hands and making plays with the ball in their hands,” said Williams. “So it’s not necessarily, I’m a four. It’s more so being a wing, which I like more. It’s going to allow guys like me specifically, Coby White, Ayo to be able to go downhill, do what we are really good at and affect the game on the offensive end.”

Donovan said he’s still uncertain about a starter at power forward, but Williams appears to be the favorite. Donovan has indicated in the past he likes White’s injection of offense off the bench, but White could be too much of an offensive factor to limit playing time off the bench.

“Going into this training camp, they're going to see which one fits better with that first unit,” White noted. “But like I said, it is what it is at the end of the day. We all love to compete. We all want to win. And that's the biggest thing for us, we just want to win. So whatever happens I think we're all going to agree.”

But there’s those special talents North Carolina’s leading prep scorer has that few do.&nbsp;

“Pushing the pace, “ White said, “playing&nbsp;in transition, playing with speed. How I played in college and high school, I think that fits me.”

Maybe it’s just in the hair. Time to break out and go back to the future?

“My body,” said White with a smile, “is telling me to just have the ‘fro right now.”

It’s meant big things in the past. Talk about a hair-raising journey. If White and Williams can deliver this season, then the Bulls may just be looking at being their own institution of high scoring.

coby-white-patrick-williams-poised-for-breakout-seasons

Coby White, Patrick Williams poised for breakout seasons

training-camp-in-nashville-day-1

Training Camp in Nashville - Day 1

There’s actually a pretty simple longtime NBA formula for ultimate success that is most frequently endorsed by fans, media and team executives.

Check who won the last game of the NBA Finals and do what they did.

And you know who happens to have a seven-foot Nikola who is adept at passing, rebounding and shooting and an athletic wing man who makes clutch tough threes? And, what do you know, a big forward who makes 40% of his stand-still threes and a bunch of gritty, hard-playing guys willing to stick their noses in there.

“Obviously I’m not (MVP Nikola) Jokić and I’m not saying I’m like him,” Bulls center Nikola Vučević was revealing to reporters Monday at the Bulls training camp opening Media Day. “But there are definitely things I can do at a high level that can help us and players on this team that can play the way they utilize Jokić with the Denver Nuggets. It’s hard to defend when you play them. Obviously, Jokić makes it extremely hard because of his passing ability. But the way they cut, the way they set back screens, the way they always make you think. Off the ball defending is very hard and it takes a lot of communication and concentration. I think it’s something we have to explore more and something we didn’t do as well in the past, and so we kind of became easy to guard because there was a lot of on-ball stuff. I think we have to focus a little bit on the off-ball, especially guard-to-guard screens, three-man action.”

There probably are several steps you don’t want to skip to get from losing in the play-in tournament, as the Bulls did last season, to winning the NBA title as the Denver Nuggets did.&nbsp;

By the way, over the team the Bulls were leading in that fourth quarter of the play-in game.

OK, OK, maybe I should not have gone there. But maybe there’s a clearer path than many believe.

Perhaps the biggest question for the Bulls, and especially coach Billy Donovan coming into this season, is less who will start at point guard or power forward, what the rotation will look like with the addition of junkyard dogs Jevon Carter and Torrey Craig or the contract extensions for Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu. Than whether Donovan will reconfigure the offense in the direction the multitalented, multinational Montenegrin.

We can all agree that Vučević isn’t quite another Jokić. But the Bulls center, who this summer resigned an extension to remain with the Bulls, is closer than just about every center in the NBA.

The Bulls’ Montenegrin Masher — what, he’s not? — doesn’t quite have Jokić’s magician’s touch with the basketball.

But Vučević can make threes. He can handle the ball out of the backcourt well enough, pass from the post which he did often enough to become a two-time All-Star with the Orlando Magic, and like in Orlando, he can be the fulcrum of an offensive system. You can make the case, and I am here, that in Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan the Bulls have far more offensive talent than the Nuggets. And the Bulls with the likes of Alex Caruso were a top-five defensive team last season. And that was pre-Carter and Craig.

But that big elephant in the room for the Bulls is also the king of the NBA jungle.

The Bulls have two of the fiercest scoring cats in the NBA in multiple All-Stars LaVine and DeRozan.

So is any coach going to take the ball out of the hands of two of the most dynamic scorers in the league to put the decision making into the hands of a veteran center going on 33 who’s been a tertiary option the last three years with the Bulls?

Which also would require recasting an entire offense at a time the team has been committed to a philosophy of personnel continuity.&nbsp;

But it does seem to make some sense and have some appeal, especially seeing the way teams were unable to counter the not-as-athletic Nuggets.

And it seems it was raised in Vučević’s free agent recruiting this summer.

The Vučević trade was the foundation of the Bulls’ new management’s reconstruction that began with the hiring of Artūras Karnišovas in April, 2020. Vučević, the kid born in Switzerland, raised in Belgium and Americanized in Orlando, became a free agent this past summer and resigned with the Bulls.

“Very excited I was able to re-sign with the Bulls for three more years,” said Vučević. “I felt like there was a lot of work undone. I felt like this team had a lot more to show and improve on. I felt like we had to give it another shot. I just felt like we didn’t show our best and we all still have a little bit of that chip on the shoulder to have a better season, play better as a team and that was a big part of my decision. Chicago traded for me. They brought me here. They gave up a lot for me. And so I felt a responsibility to come back and help the team do better than we did. I don’t know what that will be in the end. But that’s just kind of how I felt.

“I’m really happy we were able to get it done before I even hit free agency,” Vučević added. “It gives me stability the next three years, especially with the family and everything. We really enjoy living in the city of Chicago; it felt like the best decision.”

But that didn’t mean there wasn’t recruiting to be done, and Vučević acknowledged his role was discussed with perhaps some alternations to come for his place in the offense.

“Yeah, there was a lot of discussion about that,” Vučević admitted. “That was a big thing for me. A lot of stuff we talked about was more with Billy. It was finding ways to utilize me more. Not so much only for me shooting the ball and scoring, but using my playmaking ability to help the team in different ways. Obviously, you have Denver with Jokić. You have Miami with Bam (Adebayo). Teams like that that use their big man a lot as a playmaker. I think we have a team that can function that way with me and all the guards that we have who can play off the ball. It could make life a lot easier for a lot of our guys.

“I think last year also we were thinking, ‘When Lonzo comes back it’ll be different,’” said Vučević. “I think this year we have a clear picture. Obviously, he’s not going to be back and we have to find other ways to run our offense without putting so much pressure on Zach and DeMar handling the ball and scoring, doing everything. So it’s a lot of conversations I had with Billy before I signed and after I signed, a lot of talks they had about what they were thinking and how I could be utilized and where we could do a lot of stuff I like. So tomorrow (at the first practice in Nashville Tuesday) we’ll obviously start working on it and see how that all goes. There’s a lot of different options we could do where I could become a playmaker.”

Well, Wilt did go from the greatest scorer in NBA history to a playmaking center who was third in the league in assists when the Philadelphia 76ers won the 1967 championship.

But can they all adjust? Do they want to? After all, a lot of guys have had a lot of success, at least personally, doing it that other way. And few among the Bulls have played that way very often. Few teams in the NBA play that way.

“I don’t want to be out there just standing on the three and waiting for the ball to come to me and just shoot it,” said Vučević. “That’s not my game. It never has been. I don’t think it ever will be. Maybe one day when I can’t really move around anymore and I just stand and shoot (winking). That’s years away from now, hopefully. For me as we all know I’m most efficient, most comfortable inside and playing closer to the basket.

“We weren’t as good of a driving team as we need to be to have a good offense,” said Vučević about the recent Bulls. “It’s a lot of opportunities where I can be utilized whether it’s inside or it’s outside where my playmaking can come into play and help the team. So I’m looking forward to it whether that will be in the paint, elbows, top, wherever that is I think my skill set can be used. I’m excited to see what the coaches come up with over the summer.”

Yes, us too. Can it be a Magic formula? The first Nugget in the Bulls new quest for the gold?

nikola-vucevic-eyes-increased-role-in-bulls-offense

Nikola Vučević eyes increased role in Bulls offense

Is that the sturm and drang, the uncertainty and the unforeseen injustices the Bulls now are smack against to define this first era for the Bulls and Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Artūras Karnišovas and his staff? And whether it can or should continue?

This Bulls team led by what the Bulls hoped would be a bit bigger of a three of DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine and Nikola Vučević is heading into its third season with that group together with one playoff game win to show for it. There have been exhilarating highs like the league best record during the first part of the 2021-22 season. And then the cascading lows ending in falling short of the playoffs last season and star point guard Lonzo Ball being declared out for this season. Though, hopefully, not the rest of his Bulls career.

So is this season now their crossroads, the junction of their hopes and fears where they seek ingenuity while avoiding indignation? Vučević playing this summer with his national team told a reporter, “We know we (Bulls) can do better, and we have to do better. We know it’s kind of our last chance as this core of guys to do something.”

Then, on Monday, when the Bulls gathered for the annual preseason Media Day interviews and an exodus to Nashville, Tennessee for a week of practices, LaVine admitted, “For how it’s supposed to be, it hasn’t been shown as a unit. So we have to do a better job of that. 

“It’s been three years of it,” LaVine agreed. "It’s time to put pen to paper and see some results. Have a new vibe going into the season and get things going... it’s pretty much step on the gas and go.”

The Bulls this summer signed Vučević, who will be 33 later this month, to a three-year contract extension. Karnišovas, on Monday, said contract extension talks with DeRozan, who is in the final season of his Bulls contract after turning 34 in August, “are ongoing. The one thing I’m going to say is we love DeMar. The last two years have been unbelievable for us. Two-time All-Star, second team all-NBA. He loves Chicago. Chicago loves him back. I’m very excited for DeMar.”

So as Eastern Conference teams like the Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics seemingly lubricated their playoff machines with fanciful acquisitions like Damian Lillard in Milwaukee and Jrue Holiday in Boston, the Bulls mostly stayed the course.

“I love it, I love it,” DeRozan said Monday when asked about the league’s star turns. “The competition level should want to bring the best out of you and want you to compete against that. That’s how I look at it. That’s one thing I express to the guys: When you see that, you gotta get more hungry understanding you want to go against those big teams like that and compete. You want to be ready, you want to try and put all the effort you need to be ready for those moments because that should bring the best out of you every single night. I’m looking forward to it, it’s exciting, it’s fun. I love it from a competitive standpoint and from a fan standpoint.”

Karnišovas, too, believes it’s the proper direction.

Though the more difficult questions and decisions will come if the destination is not reached.

“I think for this group we want to get in the playoffs,” Karnišovas told reporters Monday. “Example last year that once you get in the playoffs, there’s an opportunity for a lot of teams (like eighth seeded Miami going to the Finals). It goes into matchups (and) if you’re healthy. There’s a lot of factors once you get in the playoffs. That would be my view for this team. Right now, the comments about us, a lot of people are not expecting us to be anywhere (in serious contention). I compare it to two years ago. The expectations are pretty much the same (and the Bulls were in first place until the injuries to Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso). I have faith in this group and Billy (Donovan) that we are going to be a good team. Going into this training camp, I’m looking forward to seeing it on the floor.”

That begins in Nashville Tuesday where the Bulls are heading for a rare preseason. It’s the farthest from Chicago the team ever has had training camp. Karnišovas sees it as a further way to elbow ahead of some competitors by, in a sense, piling onto the roster continuity. The more players know one another and are comfortable, it supposedly follows they can work more in sync.

“That continuity goes far,” endorsed DeRozan. “Sometimes you've&nbsp;got to fail as a group to understand what it takes to win as a group. Sometimes you gotta hit the wall hard with a group to understand we are all going to help one another back up. And for me, even going out to Nashville and just locking in (Tuesday), getting away from being in the city, where it's just us, really gaining that camaraderie, the chemistry, the understanding of what it takes, what we need to do by knowing how much we failed last year and the things&nbsp;that put us in a place that, you know, we have to play for a&nbsp;play-in game. We’ve got to go into training camp with that on our heart and we can leave out of there with much more continuity than we had before. That's the one thing that always put me in a position to have success with a team was that continuity.”

That would be getting on the same page instead of time to turn the page.

“I’m optimistic about this group, I believe in this group, I believe in Billy improving certain things,” Karnišovas added. “We had goals last year focused on improving our record against good teams and improving our defense. We accomplished that. We were pretty good against the top teams and we were top five in defense. The things we didn’t like was how many games we lost close, and we finished 24th in offense. We took a step back on offense and it was actually the details. We scored more points than the year prior, but we were still 24th because everybody else made adjustments. It’s about adjusting from the past year and getting some improvement.

“So this year we’re looking to play faster,” said Karnišovas. “We’re going to try and move the ball better, change our shooting profile (with more threes). Then last but not least, we’re looking to improve our team cohesion. I think the group that we have, we’re going pretty confident into training camp. I’m looking forward to seeing them on the floor and what they did this summer. I saw those guys work extremely hard the whole summer. Zach, DeMar, Vooch, those guys, we know exactly what they bring. I’m looking forward to seeing our young guys improve and take a step forward.’’

“Everybody's 0-0 (now),” DeRozan pointed out. “Every single year these last couple of years... you know, nobody would've picked the Heat to make it to the Finals. It's always some type of story that's written that nobody had expected. That's the beauty of the game that anything can happen.

“Because,” DeRozan reminded, "the third time is a charm.”

the-third-time-is-a-charm-derozan-lavine-and-vucevic-ready-for-big-third-year-leading-bulls

"The third time is a charm." - DeRozan, LaVine, and Vucevic ready for big third year leading Bulls

none

Presented By

AT&T

<a title="Bulls Play-In Tournament Tickets are On Sale Now" href="https://www.nba.com/bulls/postseason">Bulls Play-In Tournament Tickets are On Sale Now!</a>